Myrcella looked at Emmelyn carefully, and suddenly, realization dawned on her.

She could see Emmelyn was indeed surrounded by a deathly aura. She didn't notice it before because it was so weak, but now that Emmelyn stood upright, Myrcella could see something was very wrong with her.

Who cursed this woman? She was wondering.

Myrcella knew she definitely didn't do it... and she didn't think her son, Alexander did. 

Was it Elise?

No way... that girl was the kindest and sweetest person she had ever known. Elise would rather suffer than inflicted pain on other people.

Myrcella thought Elise would never hurt anyone, even the woman her fiance fancied. She was an angel.

Seeing the confusion on Myrcella's face, Maxim decided to tell the queen what he had heard from his mother. He knew this was not the time for pleasantries since Emmelyn had explained the purpose of her visit.

So, better to just lay down all the cards and get it over with. If Myrcella knew what happened, if she was a good person, she would want to help Emmelyn to free herself from the curse.

"Your Grace, my mother said there is a possibility that Aunt Catalina cast a protection spell on me before she died. She really wanted me and her daughter to get married. So, she might punish me if I 'cheated' on her daughter by falling in love with another woman."

Maxim turned to Emmelyn and continued apologetically, "I am very, very sorry that I didn't tell you about this sooner, Em. I only found out from my mother when we met her for lunch last month. I don't want to share with you the assumption before we can clarify the truth."

Emmelyn was shocked when she heard Maxim's words. She felt her knees turn weak all of a sudden that she had to hold on to his arm to support herself. So many things started to make sense.

Fortunately, Emmelyn was smart and could quickly connect the dots. So, Maxim's mother and the late queen of Myreen promised to betroth their son and daughter. The girl named Elise must be Maxim's fiancee.

Their betrothal came with a protection spell since Catalina Leoralei was a powerful witch. Catalina wanted to protect her daughter's heart from being hurt, so she made sure Maxim wouldn't be able to love another woman.

"Catalina did this...?" Myrcella was shocked. She pressed her lips and let out a long sigh.

She remembered her beautiful and sweet daughter-in-law who passed away shortly after giving birth to her only child, a baby girl she named Elise.

Catalina's death broke Alexander's heart and for several years, their people couldn't grow any crops. Alexander only pulled through because of their daughter who needed his love and care, and their people who needed his protection.

He and his mother, Myrcella, raised Elise together, with the hope that after 18 years, she would have Loriel to love and protect her.

But now, Loriel came and announced he didn't want to have anything to do with Elise?

Just look at how he created distance by refusing to call Myrcella 'grandma' and the way he refused to use Elise's name and only addressed her as 'Aunt Catalina's daughter'.

"So.. is that true?" Emmelyn was heartbroken for both she and Maxim.

She wanted to lash out at him for being the cause of her curse... However, when she turned to look at him, his sad eyes made her realize that Maxim was feeling as horrible as she was.

"I never want to marry someone I don't love. How could she do this to me?" Maxim stood up and spoke to Myrcella with a bitter tone. "Forcing me to see the woman I love suffer wouldn't make me love her daughter. What kind of logic was that??"

Maxim had been holding back for months, not to confess his feelings for Emmelyn. He wanted to wait until they had resolved her problem. However, today, everything came out uncontrollably.

"I had told my mother that I don't want the betrothal. I even left home for years to make a point that I don't like to be chained in a marriage to someone I don't love...." Maxim continued. "I didn't know that my mother didn't tell you about my refusal and break off the engagement."

"I like that my mother and Aunt Catalina were very close like sisters, and they wanted to solidify the relationship by becoming family, but didn't they ever think about my feelings? Don't I have the right to determine my life and who I want to marry?? How could they be so selfish? How could she curse an innocent woman to suffer a tragic life just because I fall in love with her?"

Maxim had been keeping all his frustration and sadness to himself, and he was hoping he could get answers and resolve the problems on his own, without involving Emmelyn, but he couldn't hold it for much longer.

Myrcella was silent. She was just as shocked and horrified as her guests. She didn't expect her daughter-in-law would do something like that.

Come to think of it...  maybe Catalina did it because she was being overprotective of her daughter and didn't think straight. She just gave birth and was in a lot of pain. She might not think ahead about the consequences, of how her protection spell would terribly make an innocent woman suffer.

"Max..." Emmelyn held her breath. She trembled and had to grip the chair stronger so she wouldn't fall. Her voice faltered when she spoke. "Did you just say... I was cursed... because... because you fall in love with me?"

"I am very sorry, Em..." Maxim started crying. "I didn't know this... I didn't know that my love for you would make you suffer so much."

He broke down to his knees and cry, showing how much the realization pained him and made him suffer too. Emmelyn felt her head was hit with a pang of pain. This was too much to bear, she thought.

Her mind went back to the painting she saw earlier. Elise was really beautiful. She also looked gentle and kind. She seemed like a perfect woman. So, why couldn't Maxim love his own fiancee?

If he had loved Elise and agreed to marry her, none of this would ever happen. Emmelyn's and Maxim's lives wouldn't be turned upside down.

Why couldn't Maxim love Elise?

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Great question, Em.

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